Philadelphia 76ers Notebook: Collins' son could be heading to Northwestern

PHILADELPHIA — It looks like Doug Collins’ son is close to following in dad’s footsteps and becoming a head coach.

Chris Collins, the associated head coach at Duke, is said to be near a deal to become the next head coach at Northwestern. Nothing’s confirmed, though ESPN is reporting it’s a done deal.

“A little premature,” Doug Collins said, before his 76ers hosted Milwaukee. “... I’m hoping it comes to fruition. Chris is very excited about the opportunity.”

The move would make perfect sense for Chris Collins, who grew up in Chicago and attained McDonald’s All-America status while playing at Glenbrook North High School. According to multiple reports, and the elder Collins, Chris interviewed with Northwestern this week.

Collins has been on the staff of Duke coach Mike Krzyzewski since 2000.

“Northwestern, obviously, (would have) the kind of athletes that Chris has been recruiting at Duke, if he were able to get the job,” Doug Collins said. “It’s in Chicago, where he’s recruited successfully, where he was Mr. Basketball, where he and his sister grew up and played high school (ball), where he has a tremendous amount of friends.”

If hired, Chris Collins would replace Bill Carmody, who was fired earlier this month after 13 NCAA tournament-free seasons at the school. To be fair, though, the Wildcats have never qualified for the Big Dance in their program’s history.

••• Apparently a disastrous season has not deterred the faith of the Sixers’ ownership group in Collins.

At a town hall meeting Wednesday with season-ticket holders, Sixers CEO Adam Aron said that Collins “is absolutely under zero pressure from ownership,” according to a tweet posted to Sixers blog Liberty Ballers.

In October, the team picked up an option on Collins’ contract to have him back through next season. The Sixers entered their game against the Bucks more than nine games out of the final playoff spot in the Eastern Conference.

••• Milwaukee’s Sammy Dalembert didn’t see any live footage or highlights of last weekend’s PIAA Class AAAA boys basketball final. But he knew his brother, Yohanny, threw down a few dunks for Lower Merion.

“I heard about that,” Dalembert said, beaming.

Sammy said Yohanny, the 6-7 center who will graduate in June after leading the Aces to a state title, has asked his big bro to help him find a college destination. The elder Dalembert said he has a proven way of ensuring his kid brother has solid grades, too.